Labor Pains
by livelovelacrosse
Summary: The birth of Matthew and Destiny's baby


A/N: One shot of Matthew and Destiny and when she goes into labor. Enjoy!

It was another typical Saturday, as Matthew was studying with Destiny. She was home- bound as she was now full-term and expected to go into labor any day. For the past nine months, Matthew has been on top of his game making sure Destiny was taken care of. He made sure he was there to take her to every sonogram and bringing her school work if she missed class. They were working on worksheets, when Matthew abruptly stopped writing.

"Hey, Des can I ask you something?" Matthew asked, gaining her undivided attention.

"Sure Matthew, what's up?" She smiled.

"Do you regret us making love?"

"No, you know that I don't. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. It's just you had to give up a lot since you got pregnant."

Destiny looked down and rubbed her swollen belly. These past few months Destiny missed out on a lot. She and Matthew used to go to the amusement parks every weekend during the summer, but her condition prohibited her to do so. Although getting pregnant was not she wanted now, but it brought her and Matthew closer than ever.

"It's not the end of the world. Just think in a day or two, we'll be parents" Destiny said, in a tone of disbelief.

"Yeah, my parents are going crazy. My mom is telling everyone she knows." Matthew laughed.

Destiny couldn't help but smile. Her grandmother got over the shock, but never failed to remind Matthew and Destiny of the consequences what they did. Whenever Destiny's pregnancy prevented something, Phylicia would say "see, this why you shouldn't have sex before your married." However, she has been very supportive of Destiny none of the less. And so have the Buchanan's, even if Nora was a little bit obsessive in the beginning of her trimester. She looked up to see Matthew staring at her.

"What, do I have something on my face or something?" She asked, rubbing around her face.

"My God, you're pretty." Matthew replied, grinning.

Destiny was sure he could see her blushing through her dark skin. "I'm fat, lounging in sweats, and I have cankles. Look out, Beyonce." She remarked, sarcastically.

"No, really Des. After spending so much time with you these past months, I really got to see how beautiful you truly are, even when your hormones went out of balance and had you acting crazy." Matthew added.

Destiny threw her pencil at him, and missed. "Don't remind me. Those were the worst mood swings I ever had."

He wasn't lying either. In her second trimester, Destiny cried about everything. If she wanted something and couldn't have it, she would cry. If her apples weren't cut into thin slices, she would cry. If she asked you did she look fat in something, and you hesitated, she would cry. And to make her stop, Matthew would mock her until she calmed down.

Closing his history book, Matthew wanted to talk more about their baby. "I got an idea. You already know that I'll be visiting our baby every day after school and I'm working at BE part-time now. I was thinking, I could bring the baby home with me on the weekends. That way you can get a break." He suggested.

"You know what, that sounds like a very good idea." Destiny agreed chewing on the end of her pencil.

Tired of studying, Destiny put all her school stuff in her bag. "I'm through with this ish for today. Want to listen to some music?" She pointed over to her stereo she got for Christmas.

Matthew shrugged, as she turned it on with the small remote control. The DJ announced that the next song was a Pussycat Dolls original. Stickwitu began playing and immediately turned to Destiny. "Hey, our song is playing." He said, sliding closer to her on the couch.

Destiny nodded her head. "I remember."

At prom freshman year, after a ground breaking performance by the Pussy Cat Dolls, they finalized their appearance by singing Stickwitu. Matthew was confined to a wheelchair, and couldn't dance. So he did something totally unexpected, and pulled Destiny into his lap. They just sat there on the side and watched everyone else slow dance. They remained that way for the rest of the night.

Getting up from the couch, Matthew held out his hand like he did the night Destiny and he made love. Destiny shook her head, and raised an eyebrow at him. "Remember the last time I took your hand? Look what ended up happening." She retorted, making a reference to her stomach.

"I just want to make up for that dance, now that I can." He replied, wittingly.

Obliging, Destiny took his hand and he helped her up. Once in his arms, he pulled her closer making sure there was no open space between them. He couldn't help but smile as he felt her belly pressed gently against his own. Destiny sighed as she laid her head against Matthew's chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. She closed her eyes and imagined that she and Matthew were on the beach, dancing together as husband and wife. She was certain that Phylicia would not let her wear a white dress. Suddenly she came crashing to reality when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

"Ow," Destiny cried, grabbing her stomach.

"Des are you okay? What's wrong?" Matthew panicked as he saw a wet spot appear on her sweatpants.

Destiny looked up at him and unsurely replied. "I think my water broke, Matthew."

Remembering their plan, Matthew ran into her room and grabbed her overnight bag which she packed earlier in the week. "We'll call Viv and our parents on the way." He assured her as he helped her put on her coat and led her out the door.

* * *

><p>Hurriedly, Matthew pushed Destiny in a wheelchair inside the ER, trying to remain calm and keep Destiny calm. He got the attention of the receptionist. "Excuse me but could you help us. She's gonna have a baby." Matthew explained.<p>

The nurse, who looked about fifty, looked disapprovingly at the teenagers and handed Matthew a clipboard of forms. "Fill those out. Shouldn't you two be studying for exams?" She coughed.

Matthew rolled his eyes, and ignored her question. "Thanks." He mumbled as he took the forms from her hands. Just then, Dr. Vivian Wright, Shaun's girlfriend and Destiny's OB came around the corner.

"Hey, sweetie. You're not due for another two days!" She exclaimed, as she greeted them. "Are you contracting and how far apart are they?"

Destiny shrugged, and looked at Matthew. He was just as clueless as she was.

Viv just shook her head and pushed Destiny down the hall. "Come with me, I'm gonna get you guys ready and prepare a room." She said, as an anxious and excited Matthew followed closely behind.

* * *

><p>It had been almost two hours since Destiny have been in labor. Matthew bit his thumbnail as he watched her writhe in pain. The contractions were coming frequently and he wished he could take away some of the pain, away from her. Vivian denied her any type of drug relief until she was at least eight centimeters dilated. She had been checked twice, and both times she was at six.<p>

Matthew did everything from rubbing her back to singing horribly to trying to make her laugh. It helped some, as she enjoyed his company. A few minutes later, Mr. and Mr. Evans came in with a card and balloons. "Oh, Destiny we came as soon as we could, sweetheart." Mrs. Evans said kissing her cheek.

"How are you baby, girl?" Mr. Evans asked, grabbing her hand.

"Fine, Matthew has been awesome, Mommy." She managed to smile through painful tears.

Mrs. Evans cut her eyes at Matthew, and gave him a half-smile. "Thank you, young man for bringing her to the hospital." She mumbled.

Richard rolled his eyes, knowing that his wife was still sore about the situation. "How are you holding up Matthew?"

Matthew nodded his head. "I'm great; I'm just waiting on my parents."

Right on cue, Bo and Nora rushed in bearing gifts of their own. "Sorry, we got held up in court, we came as quickly as possible when we got your message." Nora explained excitedly.

Bo patted Matthew's shoulders. "How you doing, Bud?"

Matthew gave a thumb up; he was just ready to meet his son or daughter.

A moment later Vivian came back to check Destiny's dilation. She shooed the men out, except Matthew out of the room and checked Destiny. She looked up and nodded. "She's ready to push." I'm going to go scrub, so I'm going to need everyone except Matthew to leave." She instructed, while she prepared herself for delivery.

Nora and Phylicia bid their good lucks to Destiny and Matthew as they walked out. Matthew was given a pair of scrubs to put on over his own clothes. He then grabbed Destiny's hand into his own, and kissed her forehead. "Are you ready to give birth to our wonderful baby?" He questioned, kissing her knuckles lightly.

"As ready as, I'll ever be."

Viv and her team of nurses then came and surrounded Destiny, tools and blankets on deck. Viv then instructed Destiny on how to push, and asked Matthew to keep her calm. "Alright Destiny, come on girl push!" She yelled.

Destiny took in a deep breath and gave it all that she could. Viv offered her encouragement. "That's a good girl. I can see the head, a bunch of hair! Just two more good pushes like that."

Destiny looked up at Matthew. "She has hair."

Matthew scoffed. "Don't be so sure it's a girl, it could very well be a boy."

Destiny gave another push with the nurses and Matthew cheering her on. Although she would never admit it, it was strange having a room full of people seeing her body. But she really wanted this to be over, so she'd deal.

Vivian looked up at Destiny and shouted through her mask. "Can you give us just one more, good strong push?"

Squeezing Matthew's hand tightly, Destiny gave all the strength, and love she had into a final push. She let her body jerk backwards into the bed, when she heard the beautiful, sharp cry. Vivian smiled as she held up the baby. "It's a boy!"

One of the nurses handed Matthew a pair of surgical scissors, as she instructed him where to cut the umbilical cord. As the neonatal technicians cleaned the baby and checked its vitals, Matthew kissed Destiny. "You're amazing." He whispered against her lips.

One of the nurses came back and gently placed the now calm baby boy in his mother's arms.

Destiny looked up at a teary eyed Matthew. "What do you want name him?

Matthew looked into the small, green eyes of the peachy skinned newborn. He took in his small size, and mop of brown hair that came out from under the small blue cap. "He looks like a Josh. Joshua Asa Buchanan." He then took his son from Destiny and held him on his own.

"Not bad, I love that." Destiny smiled.

Matthew nodded, and kissed baby Joshua's forehead. Soon after the rest of the family, including a proud Uncle Shaun came together laughing and gushing over the new addition. They were celebrating a new life that was sure to bring hope to them all.

The end.


End file.
